Machine-gun.



H. D. WOODSON JR. MACHINE sum. APPLICATION FILED JULY S, 1915- PatentedMar. 7, 1916.

2 SHEETS*SHEET I.

H. D. WOODSONH MACHINE GUN.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3,1915.

1,174,923. Patented Mar. 7, 1916.

EPIC.

HENRY D. WOODSON, JR., OF FRENIER, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF FIFTEEN ONE- HUNDREDTI-IS TO ELIJ'AH WILSON, 0F FRENIER, LOUISIANA.

MACHINE-GUN.

To all whom-it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY D. VVOODSON, a citizen of the United States, residing .t Frenier, in the parish of St. John the liaptist and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machine-Guns; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The inventionrelates to improvements in machine guns.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction. of machine guns and to provide a simple, practical, and comparatively inexpensive machine gun equipped with a plurality of separate guns adapted to be fired simultaneously and equipped with breech blocks capable of being simultaneously opened and closed and locked in their closed position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine gun of this character designed to be mounted on wheels for use in the field and capable also of being advantageously employed on ships, in forts and various other places.

- With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine gun constructed in accordance with this invention, Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, Fig. 3, is a longitudinal sectionaliview, Fig. 4c is a rear view. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the cooking mechanism.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates a series of guns arranged preferably in parallelism and in spaced relation and provided intermediate of their ends with depending lugs 2 which Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7, mile.

are secured in sockets 3 of an axle 4 by bolts 5 or'other suitable fastening devices. The axle is provided at its nds with spindles 6 arranged in the hubs of carrying wheels 7 and forming trunnions for the entire set of guns to enable the same to be elevated or depressed as required in sighting them. The guns are maintained in proper spaced relation by intermediate and end blocks 6 and 7 provided at their opposed end faces with concave surfaces 7? adapted to fit the guns at opposite sides thereof. The guns are also embraced at the top by arcuate portions 8 of a transverse bar 10 extending across the entire series of guns and connected at intervals with the axle by vertical bolts 9 which pass through the said bar, the spacing blocks and the axle. The bar 10 is provided between the arcuate portions 8 with perforations 11 for the reception of the said bolts 9.. The axle is suitably secured to the front end of an approximately triangular support ,12 constructed of suitable material and tapered rearwardly as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The tapered support is provided at the rear end with projecting ears or flan es 18 between which is secured a tongue wardly to close and open' the breech blocks but any other suitable form of hinged connection may of course be employed. The caps or holders which are provided at their tops with catches 20 areconnecte'd by a transverse bar 21 to enable them to be swung upwardly and downwardly in unison and they are locked in their closed position by a yoke bar 22 extending across the entire se ries of guns and straddling the upper portions thereof and slidably connected with the supporting means by rods 23 which slide in guides 24 of the axle 4. i

The yoke bar or locking bar 22 is provided at intervals with recesses 26 adapted to receive the rear portions of the guns to enable the yoke or locking bar to straddle the same and engage the said catches whereby the breech blocks and the holders or caps are securely retained in their closed position. The rods 23 and guides 24 are arranged at intervals and are preferably located at opposite sides of the recesses 26 but any other suitable guiding means may be employed and catches may also be provided at opposite sides of the gun as well as at the. top if desired.

The breech blocks are simultaneously swung upwardlyand downwardly by means of an operating lever 27 connected with the central breech block by means of a link 28 and fulcrumed at its lower end 29. The operating lever 27 is provided with a dog or' detent 30 connected with a latch lever 31 and adapted to engage a toothed segment 32. The toothed segment is preferably formed integral with a bracket or support 33 to which the operating lever 27 is pivsecured to the oted and which is suitably main frame or support 12 of the gun. The yoke or locking bar is connected with-an operating lever 34 fulcrumed at an intermediate point on a suitable bracket or standard 35 having ratchetteeth 36 adapted to be engaged by a pawlor dog 37 carried by the' operating lever 34 for securing the latter in its adjustment to hold the lockingbar, or

yoke in an elevated position. One or more.

operating levers may of course be employed for swinging the breech blocks upwardly and downwardly and for raising and lowering the transverse yoke or locking bar.

The guns are preferably constructed for using center-fire cartridges 38 but anyvother suitable ammunition may be employed by correspondingly changing the firing mechanism of the gun. The cartridges are exploded by the firing pins which are struck by hammers 39 mounted on an oscillatory rod or member 40 provided at its ends with arms 41 having laterally extending pivots 42 which are mounted in suitable bear-' ings of rearwardly projecting arms 43 of the axle 4. The rod or member 40 is bent at opposite sides of the center to formthe arms 41 which are preferably divergent as clearly'shown in Fig. 1 to offset the hammers from the: terminal pivot portions 42 and the said ro d ormember 40 is also provided with arms 44 arranged at right angles to the pivot portions 42 and connected with springs 45 adapted to be placed under tension by the oscillatory movement of the rod or member 40 and capable when the latter is released of swinging the hammers forwardly into engagement with the firing pins with sufficient force to explode the car-,

tridges. The springs which are of spiral form are suitably secured at their front ends to the axle but they may be secured to any engage the pintle rod 63 tions or wardly and downwardly 1n the lower sec-.

or standard 47. The oscillatory hammer carrying rod or member is adapted to be locked in a set or cocked position by a air of catches 52 mounted on a transverse s raft 53 which is journaled in suitable bearings 54 of the main frame or support 12. \Vheu the hammer carrying device is engaged by the said catches, the hook link of the cocking or setting lever is disengaged from a loop 55 to enable the springs to swing the hammers forwardly in to engagement with the firing pins when the catches are withdrawn by an operating lever or trigger 56 which is connected with the catches 52 by a flexible connection 57 having branches 58. The central gun is provided with front and rearsights 61 and 62 and the machine gun is equipped with a suitable elevating device conslsting of a transverse rod or pivot 63, standards64 and adjusting means 65. The

standards 64 which are provided with seats 66 are composed of telescopic sections and the adjusting device which may be of any desired construction consists of a ratchet bar mounted on a lower transverse rod 67 and provided with teeth arranged to to vary the relative length of the standards. The upper secrods 68 which are slidable uptions of the standard 64 to raise and lower the muzzles of the guns are locked in any adjustment by the ratchet bar 65 which engages the pivot or pintle rod 63 that connects the upper sections 68 of the standard. As the device for supporting the muzzles of the guns at the desired, elevation is hingedly connected with the said muzzles it will not be afiected by the recoil of the guns when the latter are fired. What is claimed is 1. A machine gun including an axle, supporting wheels receiving the axle, a series of guns supported by the axle, spacing blocks located at opposite sides of the guns, and a transverse bar arching the guns and secured to the spacing blocks and to the axle.

2. A machine gun including an axle provided at intervals with sockets, a series of guns provided with lugs secured in the said sockets, blocks located at opposite sides of the guns and a transverse bar having arched portions extending over the guns and secured to the said blocks.

3. A machine gun including a series of including a series of guns arranged side by side, means for supporting the guns, breech blocks for the said guns, a series of holders receiving the breech blocks and hinged on a common axis, a bar or member connecting the holders, and operating means also connected with the holders for opening and closing the breech blocks.

5. A machine gun of the class described including a series of guns, means for supporting the same, a series of breech blocks,

hinged on a common axis and provided with catches, a locking member provided with openings to receive the guns and movable into and out of engagement with the catches I23nd means for operating the locking mem- 6. A machine gun of the class described including a series of guns, means for supporting the same, a series of breech blocks, hinged on a common axis and provided with catches, and a locking member provided with openings to receive the guns and movable upwardly and downwardly to engage the catches, rods connected with the said member and arranged at intervals and guiding means receiving the rods.

7 A machine gun including a plurality of guns arranged side by side, hinged breech blocks arranged to swing upwardly and downwardly and provided at the top with catches, and a locking member movable upwardly and downwardly and arranged to straddle the guns and engage the said catches to retain the breech blocks in their closed position.

8. A machine gun including a plurality of guns arranged side by side and firing mechanism including a transverse rod or member provided with terminal pivots and having. intermediate arms ofisetting the body portion of the rod or member from the line of the pivots, hammers carried by the ofiset portion of the rod or member, springs-for actuating the rod or member, a catch for holding the rod or member against the ac-..

Copies of this patent may be obtained for tion of the spring and a lever or trigger for releasing the rod or member.

9. A machine gun including a plurality of guns arranged side by side and firing mechanism, an oscillatory member provided with a plurality of hammers, yieldable means for actuating the oscillatory member, spaced catches arranged to hold the oscillatory member against the action of the said yieldable means, and a lever connected with the catches for releasing said member.

10. A machine gun including a plurality of guns arranged side by side, breech blocks hinged on a common axis and arranged to swing in unison in their opening and closing movement, operating mechanism for opening and closing the breech blocks, means for securing the breech blocks in their closed position, an oscillatory hammer carrying member arranged to fire the guns simultaneously, a plurality of catches forholding the said member in its cocked or set position, trigger mechanism for releasing thesa-id 0scillatory member, and a setting deviceprovided with means for detachably engaging the said 'member to move the same into engagement with the said catches.

11. A machine gun including a plurality of guns arranged side by side, and an elevating device, common to all the guns including sectional adjustable standards pivotally connected at their upper ends with the guns and means including a substantially vertical ratchet bar for holding the standards in their adjustment.

12. A machine gun including a plurality of guns arranged sideby side, and an elevating device, common to all the guns including spaced sectional adjustable standards pivotally connected at their upper ends with the guns and a ratchet bar connected with the sections of the standards for securing the sections in their adjustment.

13. A machine gun including a plurality I of guns arranged side-by side, and an elevating device common to all of the guns including a pintle rod, standards connected with the'pintlerod and composed of adjustable sections, a transverse rod connecting the standards and arranged in spaced relation with the pintle rod, and means for adjustably connecting the said rods.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY D. WOODSON, JR. Witnesses:

J. A( LAUTENSGHLAEGER, J r., SAMUEL W. WEIL.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

